Chengyu
Browse 4217 vocabulary cards in Chengyu, with Chinese words, pinyin and meanings. Study this list with spaced repetition. — Page 34
Classical four-character idioms (成语). Best after you have a basic vocabulary.
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- 见异思迁 / 見異思遷 — jiàn yì sī qiān — to change at once on seeing something different (idiom) · loving fads and novelty
- 说一不二 / 說一不二 — shuō yī bù èr — to say one and mean just that (idiom) · to keep one's word
- 贪赃枉法 / 貪贓枉法 — tān zāng wǎng fǎ — corruption and abuse of the law (idiom) · to take bribes and bend the law
- 趋之若鹜 / 趨之若鶩 — qū zhī ruò wù — to rush like ducks (idiom) · the mob scrabbles madly for something unobtainable
- 逐字逐句 — zhú zì zhú jù — literal · word for word · word by word and phrase by phrase
- 遥遥无期 / 遙遙無期 — yáo yáo wú qī — far in the indefinite future (idiom) · so far away it seems forever
- 避重就轻 / 避重就輕 — bì zhòng jiù qīng — to avoid the important and dwell on the trivial
- 金童玉女 — jīn tóng yù nǚ — literally golden boys and jade maidens (idiom)
- 铜墙铁壁 / 銅牆鐵壁 — tóng qiáng tiě bì — copper wall, iron bastion (idiom) · impenetrable defense
- 震级 / 震級 — zhèn jí — degree of earthquake (on magnitude scale)
- 面红耳赤 / 面紅耳赤 — miàn hóng ěr chì — flushed with anger (or excitement)
- 鞍前马后 / 鞍前馬後 — ān qián mǎ hòu — to follow everywhere
- 高抬贵手 / 高抬貴手 — gāo tái guì shǒu — to be generous (idiom)
- 高耸入云 / 高聳入雲 — gāo sǒng rù yún — tall and erect, reaching through the clouds (idiom) · used to describe tall mountain or skyscraper
- 鸦雀无声 / 鴉雀無聲 — yā què wú shēng — literally crow and peacock make no sound
- 鹿死谁手 / 鹿死誰手 — lù sǐ shéi shǒu — literally at whose hand will the deer die (idiom)
- 默不作声 / 默不作聲 — mò bù zuò shēng — to keep silent
- 龇牙咧嘴 / 齜牙咧嘴 — zī yá liě zuǐ — to make a pained or menacing facial expression · to grimace · to snarl
- 一叶障目 / 一葉障目 — yī yè zhàng mù — literally eyes obscured by a single leaf (idiom)
- 一唱一和 — yī chàng yī hè — to echo one another (idiom)
- 一往直前 — yī wǎng zhí qián — see 一往无前 yī wǎng wú qián
- 一望无垠 / 一望無垠 — yī wàng wú yín — to stretch as far as the eye can see (idiom)
- 一波三折 — yī bō sān zhé — calligraphic flourish with many twists
- 一言九鼎 — yī yán jiǔ dǐng — one word worth nine sacred tripods (idiom) · words of enormous weight
- 一颦一笑 / 一顰一笑 — yī pín yī xiào — every frown and every smile
- 七老八十 — qī lǎo bā shí — in one's seventies (age)
- 万人空巷 / 萬人空巷 — wàn rén kōng xiàng — the multitudes come out from everywhere, emptying every alleyway (to celebrate)
- 上纲上线 / 上綱上線 — shàng gāng shàng xiàn — to make a mountain out of a molehill
- 不足为怪 / 不足為怪 — bù zú wéi guài — not at all surprising (idiom)
- 不远千里 / 不遠千里 — bù yuǎn qiān lǐ — make light of traveling a thousand li
- 东拼西凑 / 東拼西湊 — dōng pīn xī còu — to assemble from bits and pieces · to combine items from disparate sources
- 东西南北 / 東西南北 — dōng xī nán běi — east west south north
- 串通一气 / 串通一氣 — chuàn tōng yī qì — to act in collusion (idiom)
- 为人师表 / 為人師表 — wéi rén shī biǎo — to serve as a model for others (idiom)
- 义愤填膺 / 義憤填膺 — yì fèn tián yīng — righteous indignation fills one's breast (idiom) · to feel indignant at injustice
- 乐不思蜀 / 樂不思蜀 — lè bù sī shǔ — indulge in pleasure and forget home and duty (idiom)
- 互不相让 / 互不相讓 — hù bù xiāng ràng — neither giving way to the other
- 以偏概全 — yǐ piān gài quán — to take a part for the whole
- 以此类推 / 以此類推 — yǐ cǐ lèi tuī — and so on
- 伤风败俗 / 傷風敗俗 — shāng fēng bài sú — offending public morals (idiom)
- 何乐不为 / 何樂不為 — hé lè bù wéi — what is there against it? (rhetorical question indicating an eagerness or willingness to do something)
- 作鸟兽散 / 作鳥獸散 — zuò niǎo shòu sàn — literally scatter like birds and beasts (idiom)
- 先声夺人 / 先聲奪人 — xiān shēng duó rén — to gain the upper hand by a show of strength
- 刚正不阿 / 剛正不阿 — gāng zhèng bù ē — upright and plainspoken
- 卓有成效 — zhuó yǒu chéng xiào — highly effective
- 南辕北辙 / 南轅北轍 — nán yuán běi zhé — to act in a way that defeats one's purpose (idiom)
- 参差不齐 / 參差不齊 — cēn cī bù qí — variable
- 取长补短 / 取長補短 — qǔ cháng bǔ duǎn — literally use others' strengths to make up for one's weak points (idiom from Mencius)
- 变化莫测 / 變化莫測 — biàn huà mò cè — unpredictable
- 古色古香 — gǔ sè gǔ xiāng — interesting and appealing (of old locations, objects and so on)